1.  Small cell lung cancer is named based on the size of the cells that cause the cancer. It accounts for about 20% of lung cancer cases.  It also referred to as oat cell carcinoma or oat cell cancer.  This type of cancer mostly starts developing at the bronchi near the chest center.  It spreads quickly to other parts of the body even before its diagnosed.  This type of lung cancer also grows very rapidly.  The major cause of this cancer is smoking of tobacco.  Other people than are more prone to this SCLC are the people exposed to radon and asbestos gas.

2.  SCLC is mostly diagnosed in people over the age of 65years with a percentage of 50%, and 30% for people over the age of 30%.  The young people who are affected by this disease tolerate the treatment much better than the elderly people.  This is because of the reductions in organ function and comorbidities with age progression.  In America some statistics show that Lung cancer incidence rates among men have decreased by 29 percent since 1980 whereas increasing by sixty percent in women.

3.  SCLC is a very dangerous disease which is not curable but can be treated.  It’s the leading cause of death cancer for men  Statistics shows that in 1987 it surpassed breast cancer to become the leading cause of cancer deaths among women as well.  Patients suffer from persistent cough, coughing blood, recurring pneumonia, shortness of breath and other.

4.  Most lung cancers are not identified until later stages.  Prognosis or chances of recovery of SCLC if not addressed are very minute or nearly zero rate.  Prognosis for other patients depends on the stage of cancer development and also the treatment being used either chemotherapy or radiation therapy.  This is because if the disease is diagnosed in its early stages it can be treated before spreading the cells to other parts of the body like brain or liver.

5.  The main treatment of small cell lung cancer is chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The SCLC responds well to chemotherapy and radiation therapy treatment.  Other treatment that have been introduced is Sabarubicin which might improve the long- term outcome though not confirmed.

6.  Lung Cancer (2011).State of Lung Disease in Diverse Communities. Retrieved from http://www.lung.org/assets/documents/publications/ solddc-chapters/lc.pdf http://www.lung.org/assets/documents/publications/

7. Kimberly Crawford Kaplan University HS310 September 16, 2013